ORANGE Hawks coach Nathan Howarth says come Sunday afternoon, if it’s his side holding aloft the 2015 Western Challenge League Tag trophy, that’ll be a bonus.

“For us, it’s about that game experience,” Howarth said ahead of the carnival at Canowindra this weekend.

“It’d be nice to win it again, but ideally we’d just like to work on what we’ve been trying at training and if we progress from there then great.”

Howarth is in charge of a two blues outfit that’ll this season rely on a host of young faces with little league tag experience.

And they’ll get that first taste in Canowindra.

Led by the likes of Sheryll Selwood, Jacky Lyden, Stacey Howarth and Haley Butcherine, Hawks’ carnival bid will begin in pool D alongside Group 11 outfit Dubbo Westside Rabbitohs and hosts the Canowindra Tigers.

Acknowledging both outfits will be tough to topple, Howarth was reasonably confident his side may turn a few heads.

“It’s good to play other competitions,” he said.

“I think we’re heading in as underdogs, but that’ll be a good thing for us. No one really knows what the new girls are capable of. 

“They’ve been training the house down.”

In total, 12 teams have entered the Western Challenge League Tag carnival to be played at Tom Clyburn Oval on Sunday.

Since its inception in 2011, Canowindra, Bathurst St Pats (2012), Orange Hawks (2013) and Orange CYMS (2014) have won titles.

“It’s one of the exciting events on the pre-season calender,” carnival convenor Andrew Pull said.

“This year I can’t pick a winner but really like Lithgow as an outsider, with Orange CYMS, Eugowra and Dubbo Westside are all top seeds and equal favourites for the day”.

The first games begin at 10.30am.

The highest ranked sides out of each of the four pools will progress to the semi-finals.